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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Hey, Ranger!

By Peggy L Henderson

The west wouldn’t be the
west without its rangers. Many stories have been written about the most famous
of the western rangers, namely the Texas Rangers. Sorry, I’m not going to talk
about them today. I am going to talk about a different ranger. The National
Park Ranger, and how the National Park Service came to be.

After Yellowstone became
our first national park on March 1, 1872, Congress set aside exactly zero
dollars to fund the park. The first superintendent, Nathaniel P. Langford, was
not paid a salary.

Visitors came to
Yellowstone almost immediately after its creation, and along with them came the
vandals and poachers. Yellowstone’s natural resources, which were the sole
reason the park was created in the first place, were being destroyed as poachers
killed animals, souvenir hunters broke off pieces of geological formations, and
developers established numerous tourist camps.

Langford resigned in 1877,
disgusted with Congress and their refusal to help support the park. Along came
Phileus Norris, who volunteered for the superintendent position. He was finally
able to get Congress to financially help support the park, and he set aside
$1000 of the $15,000 he received in 1880 to pay for a “game keeper”, someone
who would protect the wildlife of Yellowstone from undue slaughter. Hunting was
not regulated within the park’s boundaries until 1877, and not prohibited until
1883.

Harry Yount, a civil war
veteran, hunter, trapper, guide, and packer, was appointed to the position of
game keeper in 1880.

“Rocky Mountain Harry
Yount” has been described as “a typical leatherstocking frontiersman. He was
rough, tough, and intelligent.” Independent, resourceful, able to subsist on
his own, and having familiarity and knowledge of the natural processes
surrounding him, Harry Yount has become an archetypal model for the National
Park Ranger.

He pointed out in a report
that it was impossible for one man to patrol the entire park, and urged the
formation of a ranger force. He is credited with being the first national park
ranger.

As a result of his report,
and his resignation a mere 14 months into the job, the park turned to the US
Army for help. In 1886, men from Company M, First US Cavalry, Fort Custer,
Montana Territory, came to Yellowstone to begin a - what would be thirty year -
military presence in the park. The troops lived in temporary frame buildings
near Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces. After enduring five cold and harsh winters,
they realized they would not be leaving anytime soon. In 1890, Congress
appointed $50,000 for a permanent post, and Fort Yellowstone was completed in
1891.

Soldiers stationed at the
fort were ordered to “conduct themselves in a courteous and polite, but firm
and decided manner” when carrying out their duties.

In 1912, President Taft in
a special message to Congress said: "I earnestly recommend the
establishment of a Bureau of National Parks. Such legislation is essential to
the proper management of those wonderful manifestations of nature, so startling
and so beautiful that everyone recognizes the obligations of the government to
preserve them for the edification and recreation of the people." The National
Park Service Act was signed on August 30, 1916.

Soon after, soldiers were
discharged from the Army to form the first ranks of park rangers. The National
Park Service took over protection of Yellowstone National Park, "by
arrangement with the War Department, and with its hearty cooperation," on
October 1, 1916. The National Park Service assumed full administrative
responsibilities in 1918.

During the Army's tenure,
they developed regulations that put much emphasis on conservation, and under
their watchful eyes, the features and wildlife of Yellowstone National Park were
protected from vandalism and extinction. Many of the policies initiated by the
army at Fort Yellowstone were later adopted by the National Park Service.

Today, the old post is
known as the Fort Yellowstone-Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District, designated
as a National Historic Landmark on July 31, 2003. Within the district are
the administrative headquarters for Yellowstone National Park. It is located in
the northwestern portion of the park on an old hot springs formation.

Peggy, this is fascinating stuff ... even though it's not about my favorite Rangers.

Count me in with Caroline in wanting to preserve the few wilderness areas we have left. Although I wouldn't go as far as you do and camp in Yellowstone (Goodness gracious, woman. have you lost your mind?! :-D ), I've always thought Yellowstone beautiful in wild, wonderful, one-of-a-kind way.

We loved seeing and touring Yellowstone. At our age, you'd think we would have seen it many years ago. But no, only a few years ago did we. It is astounding. I have read and heard and believed Yellowstone was the first National Park, and I still do. However, I know a person who will argue from now to eternity that Mesa Verde in Co. was the first...and they still want that distinction. Your Yellowstone series sounds wonderful, and I congratulate you.